And actually a pretty common one based on our completely anecdotal and not-at-all-scientific office poll. Based on our scouring of moving sites and other consumer forums, it seems like there’s much ado about this topic and tons of confusion. So we’ll do our best to break it down for you.

First off, unlike other service-oriented industries, tipping in moving isn’t as customary, but obviously much appreciated.

Image courtesy of Grant Cochrane/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

No bones about it, moving can be hard (both emotionally and physically). Chances are you probably hired a mover to take care of that latter part for you on move day. But aside from wowing you with their physical prowess, we believe awesome movers are also behind many happy moves because they do a ton of stuff behind the scenes to help you through the process and manage the logistics of your move on the big day.

If they did their job well and you feel comfortable about tipping the moving crew, here are some tips (see what I did there!) to help you decide what, or how much, you want to give to express your gratitude.

The Basics

Depending on the hours committed to your move job, the industry “standard” for a full day move is somewhere between $20-$40 per person. On a long-distance move, don’t forget that often the crew that loads and the crew that unpacks is different, but the driver may stay with the truck for days, so be sure to take that into consideration.

Keep “Extra” Variables In Mind

If your crew was extraordinarily professional in their handling of your belongings, finished your move ahead of schedule, or if they had to negotiate some cramped stairways or other high-stress maneuvers to load your furniture, take that into account as well before you decide your total tip amount.

Make It Personal

You’re free to distribute your tip whichever way you feel most comfortable, but we advise you to hand out each tip individually to your movers. The other option is to hand over the total tip to the foreman and divide it evenly. If you feel like certain movers had a particularly brutal workload or you noticed an uneven effort, you may want the flexibility of individually tipping if you plan to vary the amounts.

No Money? No Problem.

If you would rather show your appreciation another way, an alternative to tipping could be to provide drinks and lunch to your movers. Ask them what they’re in the mood for! In a month of moving, do you think your movers may have had pizza quite a few times already?

In the end, just remember that moving is a tough, and often under appreciated job. A tip and sincere thanks can go a long way to brightening your movers day at the end of a job well done!